Massive gemstones from around the world

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The Beau Sancy — aka Little Sancy — is 34.98-carat modified "pear double rose cut" diamond. It gets its name from Nicolas de Harlay, Lord of Sancy, who brought the stone from India to France where it was acquired by the queen of France, Marie de Medicis. The diamond made the rounds through multiple European royal families, according to the BBC. At one point, it was owned by King William III of England and Queen Mary II. In May 2012, it was sold at Sotheby's auction in Geneva for $9.57 million to an anonymous buyer.

Lesedi La Rona, which means "Our Light" in the Tswana language, is the third-largest diamond ever found, and the second-largest of gem quality, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 1,111-carat rough diamond (1,009 after it was cleaned) was found in the Karowe mine in Botswana in November 2015. The diamond is almost the size of a tennis ball and is believed to be about 2.5 to 3 billion years old. According to Fortune, the highest bid for the diamond was $61 million at a 2016 public auction, short of the $70 million reserve price, so the stone was never sold.

Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, oh my! From an opal the size of a grapefruit, to the stone that Tiffany & Co. calls its "icon," we've rounded up some of the largest gems ever found on earth. And all of them have histories to match their impressive size and shine, including the "Dom Pedro" aquamarine, which may have you rethinking the age-old adage, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend."